Method of Moral and Social Philosophical Inquiry - Postulates of Moral and Social Philosophy - The Nature of Philosophical Inquiry - The Context and Scope of Inquiry - Modes of Inquiry - Method of Ethical Inquiry

1. Chapter 3
Method of Moral and Social
Philosophical Inquiry
“For want of a nail, the shoe is lost;
For want of a shoe, the horse is lost;
For want of a horse, the rider is lost.”
- George Herbert
(1593 – 1633)
I. Postulates of Moral and Social Philosophy
A postulate is a truth that has been proven by one science and has been taken into or used by
another science.
1. Human reason is a reliable and trustworthy source or instrument of human knowledge that is true
and certain;
2. An infinitely intelligent, good, and just God exists;
3. Man has free will and is, therefore, responsible for his human actions;
4. Man has a rational soul and has intellect whose object is the truth and a will whose object is the good;
5. Man is a social being and has relatedness as his essence.
II. The Nature of Philosophical Inquiry
 Nature of Inquiry in General
According to Robert O. Johann, S.J.,
inquiry is man’s effort to integrate his
experience as a responsible agent.
“Experience” is understood as the interactive
process whereby the human self is in dynamic
relation with the whole range of the other.
The ground and condition of inquiry is the fact that man is a responder, that is, he is able to give
a fitting answer to actions upon him. In this sense, experience is not something going on within the self,
something private and subjective.
Within this process, man functions as a responder. This notion of responder has its roots in that
objective awareness, that presence of the other as other that is characteristic of man. Unlike the brute
animal which lives ecstatically immersed in its environment which it carries along as a snail carries its
shell, man finds himself standing over against the environment with which the human situation and it
looks backward (remember the past) and forward (anticipates the future).
The starting point of inquiry is the problematic situation when past habits of dealing with reality
no longer suffice for the new situation. Inquiry is, therefore, the process by which the human person
transforms a problematic situation into a resolved one. It is not mere problem solving since it is concerned
with the enrichment of human life as a whole.
Robert O. Johann, S.J. - the
Professor of Philosophy, at
Fordham University in the Bronx,
New York and Fordham's
prominent Jesuit Philosopher.

2. III. The Context and Scope of Inquiry
Human experience is a shared experience, common and shared ways, beliefs, and practices of
dealing with the environment or human reality. The inquiry is shared or communal has a double
significance:
1. The value of tradition as shared is a matter of fact.
2. But, the adequacy of the content of tradition is a matter of intention.
Logically, it would follow that inquiry is not a finished fact but a continuing task. In short, inquiry
is historical and communal, evolutionary and developmental.
Common sense inquiry is subject to error and does not suffice. Scientific inquiry is instrumental
and looks at the world as means. Philosophic inquiry alone takes human life as an end and is concerned
with the quality of human life.
The difference of philosophical view is to be explained in terms of different backgrounds, biases
and preoccupations. To achieve unity in philosophical inquiry, what needed is integration through
personal and universal human reflection and communion.
IV. Modes of Inquiry
 There are three steps in integrating human life as a whole:
1. Logic: thought must be theoretically coherent and self-consistent.
2. Phenomenology: action is the result of thought which has practical relevance.
3. Meta-pragmatics: thoughtful action must be in the service of human growth.
 Task of Philosophy
1. Formulation of a comprehensive human ideal which is the achievement of universal personal
community.
2. Criticism not only of common sense beliefs but also of philosophy itself.
The test of the validity of any philosophy is its contribution to the wholeness, coherence,
reasonableness, and satisfactoriness of human life.
A practical philosophy whose aim is life’s reconstruction and the achievement of human
development we shall call ontological pragmatism.
 Conclusion
What does it mean to inquire or to knowat all? For ontological pragmatism, to know is not simply
to think about, to interpret, or explain reality but to deal or do something with or transform reality. Thus,
to know justice is to be just, to know freedom is to be free, and to know love is to love. The only philosophy
that is practical is one that enriches human life immensely. Practical philosophy then is human reflection
on human experience in the service of human growth.

3. V. Method of Ethical Inquiry
Applying the method of ontological pragmatism to moral theory, the epistemological problem of
ethics is: What does it mean to know moral value? If to know reality is to deal with reality, then to know
moral value is to realize moral value, to be moral is to love reality of being. In short, to know good is to
do good.
 Two Basic Approaches to Moral Theory or Ethics.
1. Phenomenology can be takenboth as an attitude:“just look and see what is there” or as a method
of accurate description of what is directly given in experience (phenomena).
2. Metaphysics is reflection on the data of human experience to discover is human meaning.
 The method of our ethical inquiry is both phenomenological and metaphysical.
 It is the human meaning of human behavior that has moral significance.
 The purpose of ethics is to explicitate what is implicit; to exteriorize what is interior in man’s moral
experience.
Prepared by:
Van Eindree C. Torres
BSIT – IIIA